Interactive
Interactive Learner Guide
Cambridge IGCSE®
History 0470
For examination from 2017
Learner Guide
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2
Learner Guide
Contents
About this guide
4
Section 1: Syllabus content – what you need to know about
5
Section 2: How you will be assessed
7
Components at a glance
7
About the components
8
Section 3: What skills will be assessed
14
Section 4: Example candidate response
16
Section 5: Revision
25
Planning your revision
25
General revision advice
28
Top tips for revision of Cambridge IGCSE History
29
Revision checklists for Cambridge IGCSE History
34
3
Learner Guide
About this guide
This guide introduces you to your Cambridge IGCSE® History (0470) course and how you will be assessed. You should use this
guide alongside the support of your teacher. We suggest you print off this document or if you prefer to work electronically,
save it as a PDF document so that you can keep a record of your progress.
By the end of this guide, you should:
99 have an overview of the course and what you will learn about
99 understand the structure of the assessment that you will be taking
99 be able to plan your revision
99 know how to show your skills to the best of your ability.
Section 1: Syllabus content
Find out what topics you will be learning about. Your teacher can give you more detail.
Section 2: How you will be assessed
Find out:
•
how many examinations you will take
•
how long each examination lasts
•
what different question types the examination will contain
•
how to tackle each examination.
Section 3: What skills will be assessed
Find out what areas of knowledge, understanding and skills you will need to demonstrate throughout the course and in your
examinations.
Section 4: Example candidate response
Take a look at a learner’s response taken from a real examination. Find out:
•
how to interpret the question
•
how to avoid common mistakes
•
how to improve your exam technique.
Section 5: Revision
Discover:
•
ways to help you plan your revision
•
example revision planners
•
some basic revision skills
•
some ‘top revision tips’
•
revision checklist for each topic.
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Learner Guide
Section 1: Syllabus content - what you need
to know about
The Cambridge IGCSE History syllabus is made up of Key Questions, Focus Points and Specified Content.
Only the Key Questions have been included here. The focus points and specified content is given in the revision checklists but
ask your teacher for more detail.
You will study the Core Content in Option A or Option B. Your teacher will tell you which Option you are taking.
You will also study at least one of the Depth Studies. Your teacher will tell you which one(s) you will learn about.
Tick the boxes to record which Option and Depth Studies you are studying.
Don’t forget to save this file to keep a record.
Core Content
Option A
The 19th century: The Development of
Modern Nation States, 1848–1914
Option B
The 20th century: International Relations
since 1919
Key Questions:
Key Questions:
1. Were the Revolutions of 1848 important?
1. Were the peace treaties of 1919–23 fair?
2. How was Italy unified?
2. To what extent was the League of Nations a success?
3. How was Germany unified?
3. Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?
4. Why was there a civil war in the United States and
what were its results?
4. Who was to blame for the Cold War?
5. How effectively did the USA contain the spread of
Communism?
5. Why, and with what effects, did Europeans expand
their overseas empires in the 19th century?
6. How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern
Europe, 1948–c.1989?
6. What caused the First World War?
7. Why did events in the Gulf matter, c.1970–2000?
Depth Studies
A: The First
World War,
1914-18
B: Germany,
1918–45
E: China,
c.1930–c.1990
C: Russia,
1905–41
F: South Africa,
c.1940–c.1994
5
D: The USA,
1919–41
G: Israelis and
Palestinians
since 1945
Learner Guide
Depth Study A: The First
World War,
1914–18
Depth Study B: Germany,
1918–45
Key Questions:
Key Questions:
1. Was the Weimar Republic
doomed from the start?
1. Why was the war not over by
December 1914?
2. Why was Hitler able to
dominate Germany by 1934?
2. Why was there stalemate on
the Western Front?
3. The Nazi regime.
3. How important were other
fronts?
4. Why did Germany ask for an
armistice in 1918?
Depth Study C: Russia,
1905–41
Depth Study D: The USA,
1919–41
Depth Study E: China, c.
1930–c. 1990
Key Questions:
Key Questions:
Key Questions:
1. Why did the Tsarist regime
collapse in 1917?
1. How far did the US economy
boom in the 1920s?
1. Why did China become a
Communist State in 1949?
2. How did the Bolsheviks gain
power, and how did they
consolidate their rule?
2. How far did US society change
in the 1920s?
2. How far had Communist rule
changed China by the mid1960s?
3. How did Stalin gain and hold on
to power?
3. What were the causes and
consequences of the Wall Street
Crash?
4. What was the impact of Stalin’s
economic policies?
4. How successful was the New
Deal?
Depth Study F: South
Africa, c.1940–c.1994
3. What was the impact of
Communist rule on China’s
relations with other countries?
4. Has Communism produced a
cruel dictatorship in China?
Depth Study G: Israelis
and Palestinians since
1945
Key Questions:
Key Questions:
1. What were the foundations of
the apartheid state?
1. How was the Jewish state of
Israel established?
2. How successfully was apartheid
established between 1948 and
1966?
2. How was Israel able to survive
despite the hostility of its Arab
neighbours?
3. To what extent did South Africa
change between 1966 and
1980?
3. What was the impact of the
Palestinian refugee issue?
4. Why did white minority rule
come to an end?
4. Why has it proved impossible
to resolve the Arab–Israeli
issue?
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Learner Guide
Section 2: How you will be assessed
You will be assessed using three components:
•
Paper 1 (Written paper)
•
Paper 2 (Written paper)
•
and either Paper 3 (Coursework) or Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework).
Your teacher will tell you is you are doing coursework or not.
Coursework
No coursework
You will:
You will:
Complete one assignment during
the course (Paper 3 – Coursework).
Take three examinations at the end
of the course:
Take two examinations at the end
of the course:
•
Paper 1 (Written paper)
•
Paper 2 (Written paper)
•
Paper 1 (Written paper)
•
•
Paper 2 (Written paper)
Paper 4 (Alternative to
Coursework)
Components at a glance
The table summarises the key information about each component. You can find details and advice on how to approach each
component on the following pages.
Component
Paper 1 (Written
paper)
How long and
how many
marks
2 hours
60 marks
Skills assessed
Details
Knowledge and
understanding
You answer three questions:
•
two questions from Section A (Core
Content)
•
one question from Section B (Depth
Study)
Percentage
of the
qualification
40%
Paper 2 (Written
paper)
2 hours
50 marks
Ability to interpret,
analyse and evaluate
historical sources
You answer six questions on one topic taken 33%
from the Core Content
Paper 3
(Coursework)
40 marks
Knowledge and
understanding, and the
ability to explain and
justify arguments and
conclusions
You produce one piece of extended writing
(up to 2000 words) based on a Depth Study
from the syllabus or a Depth Study devised
by the Centre
Paper 4
(Alternative to
Coursework)
1 hour
40 marks
Knowledge and
understanding, and the
ability to explain and
justify arguments and
conclusions
You answer one question on a chosen Depth 27%
Study
7
27%
Learner Guide
About the components
It is important that you understand the different types of question in each component and how you should approach them.
Paper 1 (Written paper)
This paper tests your knowledge and understanding. You need to answer three questions:
Two questions from Section A
(Core Content)
There are four questions to choose
from for each Option; your teacher
will tell you which Option you are
doing:
•
Questions 1–4 are on Option A.
•
Questions 5–8 are on Option B.
One question from Section B
(Depth Study)
There are two questions for each of
the Depth Studies; your teacher
will tell you which Depth Study
you are doing.
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Learner Guide
Question types and advice
All the questions in Paper 1 are in the form of structured essays split into three parts: (a), (b) and (c).
Part (a) questions
• worth 4 marks
• ask you to describe historical
events, themes or aspects
of history using details and
knowledge in context
Part (b) questions
• worth 6 marks
• ask you to explain why a specific
event or factor happened or why
it was important
Part (c) questions
• worth 10 marks
• ask you to provide a balanced
argument and conclusion about
historical events or factors
10 mins
5 mins
Give precise and accurate details.
Explain why, don’t just describe. For
example, if you were asked:
Give examples.
‘Why was the Treaty of Versailles
disliked by so many in Germany?’
Avoid generalised statements.
you would need to describe the
Treaty and make it clear why this
would lead to Germans disliking it.
20 mins
Explain your judgements by
comparing the factor in the
question against other factors
from your own knowledge to give
a balanced explanation. These
questions typically ask for your
judgements using questions like
‘How far do you agree?’, ‘How
significant?’, ‘How successful?’ or
‘How effective?’
You have to answer three questions in
two hours. Try to keep to these timings:
•
about 5 minutes on each part (a)
•
about 10 minutes on each part (b)
•
about 20 minutes on each part (c)
•
You must answer all three parts of the questions you choose.
•
Each question relates to a Key Question from the syllabus. Make sure you pick the questions that you can
answer most easily.
•
Make sure you include your own knowledge, facts, dates and relevant examples in all of your answers.
•
You could answer the questions in the order you are most confident, but be careful of the number of marks
each question is worth. Try to base your choice of questions on how well you can answer the high mark
parts (i.e., (b) and (c)) rather than low mark parts.
•
If you finish early, re-read and check your answers, adding more relevant facts and ideas if you can
remember them.
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Learner Guide
Paper 2 (Written paper)
Paper 2 tests your ability to interpret, analyse and evaluate historical sources.
You need to answer all six questions on the prescribed topic from the Core Content Option you have studied:
Option A: 19th Century topic
Option B: 20th Century topic
The prescribed topic and Key
Question is different for each year
of the examination and is given in
the course syllabus.
Your teacher will tell you which
topic of the Core Content applies
to you for this paper.
Each Option includes background
information to set the context.
Each Option includes historical
sources that relate to the prescribed
topic. The six questions are based
on the source material.
The sources might be text,
photographs, posters or cartoons.
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Learner Guide
Question types and advice
The six questions are not split
into parts like Paper 1.
Each question requires an essaystyle response and is typically
worth 7 or 8 marks, except
for Question 6, which is always
worth more (typically 12).
You have two hours to answer six questions.
Try to spend about 10–15 minutes reading through the
Background Information, all of the sources and your six
questions before you attempt to answer the questions.
Make sure you have at least 30 minutes saved to answer
Question 6. This will leave you about an hour to complete the
other five source questions.
Some questions will relate to just
one source while others will ask
you to examine and compare
two or more sources.
Questions 1–5 will vary in what they are asking you to do. Some
questions might ask you to:
•
Question 6 requires you to use all
of the sources in an essay-style
response.
compare details in sources to analyse their similarities and
differences, or how far they agree or disagree with each
other
•
interpret the message of the cartoonist
•
evaluate why the source was made
•
evaluate why the source is useful to historians
•
explain why the source surprises you.
Question 6 is a ‘How far...?’ type question.
Look through all of the sources and decide
which ones support or don't support the
statement in the question (some will do
both). You need to use source details to give
a balanced explanation and judgement.
Make sure you only answer the questions set and do not waste
time just describing details in the sources as this will not gain
you any additional marks.
•
Make sure you know which Option you are doing.
•
Read the background information first, as this sets the context for the sources and the questions.
•
All questions will ask you to use details from the sources to explain your answer, so make sure you describe the
details or quote from a source as evidence in your answer.
•
Most questions will also ask you to use your own knowledge to explain your answer and to put the sources into
context. Make sure you can give relevant facts or examples that relate to the source(s) you are asked to study.
•
Make sure you refer to the source details when answering source questions so you provide evidence for your
analysis and evaluations.
•
If you finish with time to spare, re-read and check your answers, adding more facts and ideas if you can remember
them.
Carefully read the provenance
(where the source comes from) for
each source to help you put it into
context. Consider the creator, date
and any other relevant information
that might help you. The
provenance is always at the bottom
right of each source in italics.
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Learner Guide
Paper 3 (Coursework)
Coursework tests your knowledge and understanding, and your ability to explain and justify your arguments and conclusions.
Coursework must be focused on the issue of significance.
You need to produce a piece of extended writing of up to 2000 words based on content from one of the Depth Studies or a
Depth Study devised by your teacher and approved by Cambridge. Any words over the limit of 2000 will not get marked.
You will normally be taught a set scheme of work first and then given an approved title, which is the question to be answered.
It will probably take you 8–10 hours to fully complete the writing up of the Coursework.
Question types and advice
It has to be all your own work. Make sure you reference
and acknowledge quotes or copied materials.
Coursework should be based on one
question and not broken into subquestions.
The question should be about the
significance of an individual, group,
organisation, development, place or
event.
Your teacher can guide you through the process but
they will not be able to influence your decisions on
what you decide to write.
It will be assessed holistically (as a
whole) and a generic mark scheme will
be applied.
You should develop and support your own arguments
and judgements.
It will be marked by your teacher first
and then submitted to the exam board.
Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework)
This is a written paper examination. It requires you to demonstrate a
balanced response that addresses the importance or significance of a
given factor in the question in relation to other factors.
You need to answer one question from your chosen Depth Study.
There are two questions to choose
from for each Depth Study A–G.
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Learner Guide
Question types and advice
You will answer one essay-style question
worth 40 marks. The examination lasts
for one hour.
Your answer needs to be a bit like an extended part
(c) question from Paper 1: a balanced argument and
conclusion about a historical event or factor.
Make sure you examine the importance or significance
of the factor given in the question.
The two questions for each Depth Study
will ask you either ‘How important..?’’
or ‘How significant..?’ an aspect of
history was and will be based on the
Key Questions from your chosen Depth
Study.
Then balance the argument using counter-arguments
that assess the relative importance or significance of
other factors that relate to the question.
Support your judgements and conclusions with
evidence.
Your teacher will tell you which Depth
Study you are doing.
Choose the question you are going to answer carefully
and make sure you only pick one of the two questions
in the chosen Depth Study.
•
Explain your answers and provide relevant and contextual factual knowledge (examples, dates, names, etc.) to support and
develop your argument.
•
Answers need a clear structure and argument.
•
If you finish with time to spare, re-read and check your answer, adding more relevant facts and ideas if you can remember
them.
13
Learner Guide
Section 3: What skills will be assessed
The areas of knowledge, understanding and skills that you will be assessed on are called assessment objectives (AO).
AO1
Demonstrate historical knowledge
AO2
Demonstrate historical explanations
AO3
Demonstrate interpretation and
evaluation of sources
The tables explain what each assessment objective means and what percentage of the whole qualification is assessed using
that objective. Your teacher will be able to give you more information about how each of the assessment objectives are tested
in each component.
Assessment Objective
What this means
Where
AO1
Demonstrating historical knowledge
All three components:
An ability to recall,
select, organise and
deploy knowledge of the
syllabus content.
You need to show that you can use historical facts to support your
answers. You can do this by including the relevant:
Paper 1 (20 marks)
•
key dates
•
key events
•
key historical characters and groups
•
key historical concepts and ideas
•
important statistical data and examples.
Paper 3/4 (15 marks)
AO2
Demonstrating historical explanations
An ability to construct
historical explanations
using an understanding
of:
You need to show that you understand the causes, reasons or factors
that you examine in your answers by making supported conclusions
and judgements, prioritising factors and assessing their relative
importance and significance.
•
cause and
consequence, change
and continuity,
similarity and
difference
Make sure you address the following in your answers:
• causes and consequences (the reasons why events happened and
their impact)
•
change and continuity (how they changed or how they stayed the
same)
the motives,
emotions, intentions
and beliefs of people
in the past.
•
similarities and differences
•
motives and purpose
•
importance and significance
•
successes and failures
•
effectiveness.
•
Paper 2 (10 marks)
14
Percentage of IGCSE:
30%
Two out of three
components:
Paper 1 (40 marks)
Paper 3/4 (25 marks)
Percentage of IGCSE:
43%
AO2 is not tested in
Paper 2.
Learner Guide
Assessment Objective
What this means
Where
AO3
Demonstrating interpretation and evaluation of sources
An ability to understand,
interpret, evaluate and
use a range of sources
as evidence, in their
historical context.
You need to show that you can interpret a source. This means
demonstrating that you understand the meaning of the source.
One out of three
components:
You also need to show that you can evaluate a source. This means,
for example, determining how useful it is, how reliable it is, what
its limitations are, what type of source it is, the significance of the
creator and so on.
You will need to demonstrate that you can:
•
make inferences – indicate what the content and details of the
source suggest
•
interpret the message of posters and cartoon sources – indicate
what you think the creator of the source intended to try to tell or
show the audience
•
evaluate the usefulness and reliability of source evidence, for
example by
–– assessing the value of the content of the source against your
own knowledge
–– assessing the language and tone of the source content
–– assessing the motive of the creator of the source by examining
the provenance.
•
explain the purpose of the source – evaluate why a source was
made or published by the creator
•
compare similarities and differences between sources to identify
different interpretations of the past.
15
Paper 2 (40 marks)
Percentage of IGCSE:
27%
AO3 is not tested in
Paper 1, Paper 3 and
Paper 4.
Learner Guide
Section 4: Example candidate response
This section takes you through an example question and learner response from a Cambridge IGCSE History (0470) past
paper. It will help you to see how to identify words within questions and to understand what is required in your response.
Understanding the questions will help you to know what you need to do with your knowledge, for example, you might need to
describe something, explain something, argue a point of view, apply the knowledge in a different way, or list what you know.
All information and advice in this section is specific to the example question and response
being demonstrated. It should give you an idea of how your responses might be viewed by an
examiner but it is not a list of what to do in all questions. In your own examination, you will
need to pay careful attention to what each question is asking you to do.
This section is structured as follows:
A. Question
Words in the question have been highlighted and their
meaning explained. This should help you to understand
clearly what is required by the question.
B. Mark scheme
This tells you as clearly as possible what an examiner expects
from an answer to award marks.
C. Example candidate response
This is an answer by a real candidate in exam conditions.
Good points and problems have been highlighted.
D. How the answer could have been improved
This summarises what could be done to gain more marks.
E. Common mistakes
This will help you to avoid common mistakes made by
candidates. So often candidates lose marks in their exams
because they misread or misinterpret the questions.
16
Learner Guide
A. Question
The question used in this example has been taken from Paper 4, Depth Study D: The USA, 1919–1941.
8 How important were the Alphabet Agencies? Explain your answer. [40]
How important...this means that
you need to assess the importance
of the Alphabet Agencies by
explaining their relative success.
Explain...this means that the examiner
will be expecting you to use your own
knowledge to give detailed reasons for
the relative importance of the Agencies
(successful and not successful).
17
Learner Guide
B. Mark scheme
The mark scheme lists some examples of the knowledge that the examiner would expect to see in the response as evidence
(details such as dates, names, statistics, etc.). If a candidate includes points not in the mark scheme but which are accurate
and relevant, the examiner will award marks for these points. The mark scheme does not include all possible answers.
Look at the mark scheme for Question 8 below.
The candidate needs to assess the importance by explaining the successes and failures of the Alphabet Agencies,
supporting their argument with reference to specific events, such as:
Successes:
•
Provision of jobs increased spending power and confidence, multiplier effects on all unemployment.
•
Unemployment fell from 14m in 1933 to 8m by 1937.
•
CWA, PWA and WPA had become the country’s largest employer by 1938.
•
CCC and NRA gave jobs to young people.
•
TVA effects across a wide spectrum of work.
•
Some had wider aims – FERA for emergency relief.
•
PWA and WPA improved infrastructure and gave some aid for Black and Native Americans.
•
AAA allowed for higher wages and new farming techniques.
Failures:
•
Many agencies were not intended as more than relief measures.
•
Cutbacks in finance from 1937 saw unemployment rise again.
•
Still 9m unemployed in 1939.
•
Rural unemployment because of mechanisation not solved.
•
Limited effect upon migrant labour and black unemployment.
•
Many agencies opposed by business and Republican interests.
•
Challenges to parts of Agencies’ work challenged as far as the Supreme Court where some aspects were found
to be unconstitutional or illegal.
•
From 1939 war production and exports to Europe more successful as was US entry to the war in 1941.
•
Radical critics – Huey Long, Townsend, Coughlin.
•
Emergency Banking Act.
•
Wagner Act.
•
Social Security Act.
•
'Fireside chats’.
The examiner uses a mark scheme, a set of level criteria (see next page) and the assessment objectives to mark the answer.
The Level criteria list what the candidate needs to do in order to demonstrate the assessment objectives at that level. These
criteria make reference to knowledge and examples, which are those listed in the mark scheme. The assessment objectives are
the areas of knowledge, understanding and skills you saw in Section 4: What skills will be assessed. Remember that only AO1
and AO2 are assessed in Paper 4.
18
Learner Guide
Level criteria for AO1 (historical knowledge) and AO2 (historical explanation)
The examiner uses the descriptions for the level criteria to determine what Level to award a candidate’s response. Here, you are shown the descriptions for Levels 2, 3 and 4.
Level 2
Demonstrate some contextual
knowledge but it is limited.
Level 3
Level 4
Demonstrate and select some relevant Deploy mostly relevant and accurate
contextual knowledge and use it
contextual knowledge to support
appropriately to support parts of their parts of their answers.
answers.
Select and organise some relevant
Select and organise mostly relevant
Select a range of relevant information
information. This is only used correctly information, much of it used
which is generally well-organised and
on a few occasions.
appropriately with a structured
used appropriately.
approach, either in order of occurrence
or according to different themes.
Identify and describe key features,
reasons, results and changes of
the societies, events, people and
situations relevant to the question,
but little awareness of the broad
context. There is some structure in
the descriptions.
Demonstrate some understanding
of the key features, reasons, results
and changes of the societies, events,
people and situations relevant to the
question with some awareness of the
broad context.
Demonstrate a reasonable
understanding of the significance of
the key features, reasons, results and
changes of societies, events, people
and situations relevant to the question
with awareness of the broad context.
They have some understanding of
interrelationships of the issues in the
question.
Attempt conclusions but these are
Support is provided for their
stated, undeveloped and unsupported. conclusions but they are not always
well-proven.
Can produce developed, reasoned and
supported conclusions.
Present work that lacks precision and
succinctness.
Write with precision and succinctness,
showing structure, balance and focus.
Write with some precision and
succinctness.
Present a recognisable essay structure, Produce structured descriptions and
but the question is only partially
explanations.
addressed.
‘Contextual knowledge’ for Question 8 refers
to examples, statistics and detailed evidence
such as the number of unemployed helped by
the WPA and the date range when this happened.
Use of this detail helps demonstrate an in-depth
knowledge of the topic.
‘Broad context’ for Question 8 means linking
the material to the bigger picture. For example,
stating that the New Deal Agencies were set up to
deal with the worst effects of the Depression, such
as poverty and unemployment, demonstrates
wider knowledge of the topic that is the focus of
the question.
‘Developed’ for Question 8 means including key
evidence to add detail to your explanations in
order to support any judgements you make about
importance. This helps to demonstrate a clear
understanding.
‘Well-proven’ for Question 8 means that your
explanation has to be detailed enough to get the
point across, or to support the argument being
made well. Your comments should be detailed and
not brief.
19
Learner Guide
A strong answer for Question 8 should include:
•
clear structure and argument
•
description of what the Alphabet Agencies achieved and what they failed to achieve
•
explanation of the importance/significance of the Alphabet Agencies supported by evidence such as relevant:
–– key dates
–– key names
–– key characters and groups
–– key ideas and concepts
–– data and statistics
•
balanced argument – examples of successes and failures of the Alphabet Agencies as well as other aspects of the New Deal
that were also important
•
the consequences of the successes and failures of the Alphabet Agencies and other aspects of the New Deal
•
the motives, purposes and effectiveness of the Alphabet Agencies and other aspects of the New Deal
•
valid conclusions and supported judgements about the importance of the Alphabet Agencies.
Now let’s look at the example candidate response to Question 8 and the examiner’s comments on this response.
C. Example candidate response and examiner comments
The real candidate answer is presented on the left-hand side. The response has been typed and white spaces introduced
between sections to make it easier to read. The examiner comments are included inside the orange boxes.
The examiner marks the answer as a whole, taking into consideration the overall Level. However, for the purpose of this
example, the examiner has made specific comments about paragraphs to help you see what standard they each demonstrate.
The candidate was graded as Level 3 overall for their answer.
20
Learner Guide
8 How important were the Alphabet Agencies? Explain your answer. [40]
The question is directly addressed and the candidate gives some
judgement. However, this paragraph is undeveloped because
it lacks explanation and factual support such as examples (e.g.
the CCC employed 2.5 million young men to help reduce the
unemployment problem) and does not provide balance. This
paragraph demonstrates Level 2 skill because the question is only
partially addressed.
In my opinion the alphabet agencies were the most important
regulations in the New Deal because it changed a lot and they
helped America to recover. Roosvelt set up many different alphabet
agencies and all of them covered problems which had to be solved.
The work progress administration and the public work
administration provided thousands of jobs, which was really
important because of the influence of the Great Depression and
the Wall Street crash. Furthermore they builded schools, bridges,
streets, airports etc which made americans economy much stronger
and, again, provided work.
The alphabet agencies also helped farmers, who were hit hard
by the depression to recover. The agricultural adjustment
administration for example paied farmers for producing less food
which made the prices rise again and provided higher wages.
Another really important alphabet/agency was the Tennessee valley
authority, which helped the whole zone of seven states to get out of
their dust. The problem was that the Tennessee river was flooding
in wet season and it was too dry in dry seasons. It had a really high
influence on the agriculture and the sail around the river got dry
which made it impossible to plant important resources.
21
The candidate examines the importance of the WPA and provides
some brief examples of the different ways the agency helped ease
the unemployment problem.
The description is structured but it lacks explicit explanation of its
importance, such as it helped solve the unemployment problem
that had reached nearly 14 million by 1933. This paragraph
demonstrates Level 3 skill.
The AAA is also briefly explained. The candidate focusses on
the fact that the AAA helped increase income for farmers. This
paragraph demonstrates Level 3 skill rather than Level 4 skill
because it lacks specific examples, such as statistics to support
their response. For example, they didn’t state how many farmers
were helped or by how much the wages or income increased.
Learner Guide
The Tennessee valley authority helped the area by building dams,
which controlled the problem of the river and mad work at the
same time.
The Tennessee valley was also a really underdeveloped zone without
electricity. The alphabet agency helped by building electricity
networks. The Tennessee valley was a big problem area because
it was devided into 7 zones and every zone had their own
government, which made it impossible for them to control and solve
the problems in all regions. The Tennessee valley authority made
it possible and was a great success. But even though the alphabet
agencies were a really important factor there were other which
made the New Deal work out.
The economic and especially the confidence of america was weekend
a lot by the depression and Roosevelts aim was to recover from
it. He introduced ‘bank holidays’ which closed all banks for 4 days
and reopened over 5000 healthy banks again after the holidays.
They were even supported by the government if necessary. People
started to get trust into the banks again and confidence started
growing. Roosevelt made the americans ffeel that something good
was happening, which was significant, because the americans had
the feeling that they can trust Roosevelts actions.
The TVA is examined in more detail here. The candidate
demonstrates, indirectly, a clear understanding of its importance
in helping many different aspects of the USA during the
Depression such as the lack of communication between individual
states, the poor economic development of the Tennessee Valley
area and the problems caused by lack of electrification. The
candidate needs to address why this was important. For example,
it helped to bring power to the region which allowed businesses
to grow and create new job opportunities in the area.
This paragraph demonstrates Level 3 skills because the
explanation is structured but the explanations are not well
proven. If they had also included some example figures or
statistics to support their answer, they might have developed it to
demonstrate Level 4 skills.
The candidate then provides an analytical balance to their
response by examining other aspects of the New Deal as opposed
to the Alphabet Agencies. The focus here is the Emergency
Banking Act (though not mentioned by name).
The explanation of its importance is well-supported and
developed, as the candidate links this to the renewed confidence
in the banking system and includes in-depth factual examples to
support their comments on how people regained confidence.
This paragraph demonstrates Level 4 skill because it is supported
by some relevant examples, such as ‘… introduced ‘bank holidays’
which closed all banks for 4 days and reopened over 5000 healthy
banks again after the holidays’ that help develop this part of the
answer further.
22
Learner Guide
Furthermore Roosevelt introduced the Wagner Pact which forced
all companies to allow trade unions. Employees were allowed to
negotiate in trade unions for e.g. higher wages. This pact created
more cooperation in companies and made the employees feel fair
treated and worth.
The Wagner Act is examined here as a further example of nonagency help as part of the New Deal. This section is brief and not
precise about importance but is clearly focussed. The response
here demonstrates Level 3 skill because it indirectly addresses the
question of importance by making a valid comment about the
Wagner Act but it does not score higher because it is not obvious
in the way the paragraph is worded and it lacks factual examples
to make it developed.
Another really important factor was the regulations Roosevelt
introduced in his second New Deal. He developed a scheme that
allowed pension for elderly over 65 and widows.
The candidate then gives details about the Social Security
Act without mentioning it by name. Good knowledge and
understanding is demonstrated about the workings of the
legislation and it is linked directly to importance as part of the
Second New Deal.
Furthermore it made companies put small amount of money into
funds, which was given to people who lost their jobs to be able to
pay their houses and food until they found work again. He also
provided money and help for people were not able to work because
of accident or a disability. The scheme made many americans feel
safe and get trust in the government.
All in all I can say that the alphabet agencies were probably the
most important factor to make the New Deal work out because all
of them strenghtend the economy very much and helped farmers
and americans in general to get out of the depression. The best
thing about the alphabet agencies was probably that it reduced the
unemployment rate really much, but however, their were also other
factors that helped america to recover like the wagner pact and
security act.
Mark awarded = 21 out of 40 Level 3
23
This description is structured but as the candidate only partially
explains the importance they demonstrate Level 3 skill. This
could have been developed further into a Level 4 response by
comparing the relative importance of the Social Security Act to
the Alphabet Agencies by comparing their impact and success.
The conclusion is brief and acts as a summary rather than
providing a final analysis. There is not enough explanation and
evidence to make a supported judgement about the relative
importance of the Alphabet Agencies against other factors. So,
the conclusion demonstrates Level 3 skill.
To demonstrate Level 4 skill here, the candidate has to make
well reasoned and supported judgements in the conclusion using
precise and accurate evidence that proves their argument.
Learner Guide
C. How the answer could have been improved
This is a solid Level 3 response that shows balanced but partial explanations that address the question.
The response could be improved to achieve Level 4 by directly comparing the relative importance of the Alphabet Agencies
against the other aspects of the New Deal in terms of their impact and success in solving the problems caused by the
Depression, such as unemployment, poverty and stimulating the economy.
The response could have also examined the lack of success of many of the Alphabet Agencies in the long term as many
aspects of the Depression were only solved by the onset of the Second World War.
Opposition to the New Deal could also have been included in the response, particularly radical opponents such as Huey Long,
Supreme Court opposition and Republican criticisms of the Alphabet Agencies.
In summary, this answer needed more direct comparisons, some deeper examination of some key aspects and more
supporting examples and facts.
D. Common mistakes
The most common error for this question was the mistake made by some candidates in defining what constitutes an Alphabet
Agency. Many responses incorrectly described all legislation passed by the Roosevelt administration as an example of an
Alphabet Agency. It was also common for candidates to mistakenly include the Emergency Banking Act, the Wagner Act and
the Social Security Act as examples of the agencies, which is incorrect and led many candidates to write large sections of
inaccurate material in their responses.
In summary, a common mistake was incorrect factual knowledge used as evidence.
General advice
In order to do your best when answering a question, make sure you:
•
actually address the question being asked; stay focussed
•
think carefully about how to define a given term or event, ensuring that you use the correct facts in your description, not
just all the facts you can think of
•
relate any facts, definitions or knowledge you’ve given to the question being asked, i.e. consider the context of the
information you are giving
•
are clear and direct in any judgement, statements or conclusions you are making; the examiner cannot make assumptions
about what you mean – you need to make it very clear
•
support any judgements, statements or conclusions with accurate and relevant evidence, examples and statistics
•
write a conclusion that is analytical and developed in terms of explanation and evidence when making your final
judgement.
24
Learner Guide
Section 5: Revision
It is important that you plan your revision in plenty of time for the examinations and that you develop a revision technique
that works for you.
Planning your revision
A well-structured revision plan can give you the best chance of success in your examinations. As early as possible (at least six
weeks before the examinations for each subject) identify the time you will spend revising and schedule slots for revision of
this subject alongside your other subjects.
To create a revision schedule, you could use an overall planner for the weeks leading up to the examinations. You could then
create weekly revision plans at the start of each week, which include the detail of which subjects you will revise and when.
There are some example planners on the next page but there are lots of other ways you can do this. Planning takes time but
will help you be more productive.
Use the following as a checklist to help you create your schedule:
Write down the dates and times of each of the examinations you are taking, in a calendar, diary or planner.
Work out how much time you have before each examination, so you can leave yourself plenty of time to
revise each subject.
For each subject make sure you:
know how long each examination paper is
know what each examination paper is going to assess
work out how much time you can spend on each topic so that you revise all topics.
It is important to have breaks in order to stay alert and productive, so make sure you:
include one rest day per week, or break this up into shorter rest breaks across a week
include at least two hours of rest before bed time; working too late is unlikely to be productive
take regular breaks during revision; revising for hours without a break will overload you
have short revision sessions and short breaks between each session
know ways to relax during your breaks; for example, physical exercise can be good during breaks.
It is important to be flexible and realistic, so make sure you:
include most days leading up to the exams and include any days or times when you are not able to revise
(for example due to attending school, eating meals, participating in sports and hobbies)
are honest with yourself about how much time you can really spend on each subject and topic
don’t get upset about plans that did not work – think of new plans that are easier to achieve.
It might help to:
include a mixture of subjects each day
break up the material in your subjects into manageable chunks.
Plan to return to topics and review them; revisiting a topic means that you can check that you still
remember the material and it should help you to recall more of the topic.
Include doing past paper examinations in your plan.
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Learner Guide
Revision planners
There are many different planners, calendars and timetables you could use to plan your revision. The ones provided in this
section are just examples. They range from an overview of all the weeks leading up to the first examination, to the detail of
what you will be revising each day.
Use colour-coding for different subjects, time off, examinations and so on. Plan which subjects you are going to revise in which
slots. You could then add more detail such as topics to be covered. The planner can be as detailed, large and colourful as you
like. Remember to tick off sections as you complete them and to review your plans if needed.
Overview planner
In the example below, imagine that the first examination is on 1 June. Here, the box has just been highlighted but you should
write down the paper number, the subject and the time of the examination. You should do this for all the examinations you
have. This helps you to visualise how much time you have before each examination. You can use this to block out whole or half
days when you can’t revise. You can also include as much or as little detail about your daily or weekly revision plan as you like.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
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18
19
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24
25
26
27
28
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30
1
2
3
4
5
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7
8
9
10
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2
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Learner Guide
Weekly planner
This allows you to input greater detail about what you will revise each week. In the example below, each day is split into three.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
In the example below, each day has been split into 1-hour slots so you can include even more detail.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
08:00 09:00
09:00 10:00
10:00 11:00
11:00 12:00
12:00 13:00
13:00 14:00
14:00 15:00
15:00 16:00
16:00 17:00
17:00 18:00
18:00 19:00
19:00 20:00
20:00 21:00
27
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Learner Guide
General revision advice
Here are some useful tips to help you with your revision. Use this as a checklist.
Make accurate notes during the course.
Look at the revision checklists and be really clear what topics you need to know.
Check that your notes are complete and make sense.
If you need to improve your notes, you could:
•
ask your teacher for help, especially if you don’t understand some of your notes
•
ask a friend if you can copy missed work, but make sure you understand it
•
find more information on topics using your teacher, textbook, the library or the internet; your teacher will
have a full copy of the syllabus
•
use different note-taking methods such as colour-coded notes, tables, spider-diagrams and mind maps;
Venn diagrams can be very useful when you need to compare and contrast things.
Make lots of new notes: they don’t have to be neat, you can use scrap paper or a digital notepad. Remember
that the process of writing and reviewing your notes helps you to remember information.
Be organised: keep your notes, textbooks, exercise books and websites to hand.
Find a revision method that works for you; this might be working alone, with friends, with parents, online, at
school, at home or a mixture of many different methods.
Have a clear revision plan, schedule or timetable for each subject you are studying.
Vary your revision activities: your revision programme should do more than remind you what you can and
cannot do – it should help you to improve.
Use revision checklists to analyse how confident you feel in each topic.
Try doing some past examination papers; use the mark schemes to assess yourself.
Use plenty of pens, colours, paper and card of different sizes to make your notes more fun.
Test yourself in different ways, for example by:
•
playing ‘Teach the topic’
•
using Question and answer cards
•
answering real exam questions
Buy a good revision guide.
28
Learner Guide
You might also find it helpful to:
Target single issues such as correcting those little things you always get wrong, or reminding yourself about
any facts/issues/skills that you have never been too sure of.
Spend most of your time on specific skills, knowledge or issues that you have found more difficult when
practising them, either during revision or earlier in the course during tests or mock exams.
Spend some time focussing on your strengths as well, so that you can improve.
Top tips for revision of Cambridge IGCSE History
1. Living timelines
Living timelines are not just normal timelines. They allow you to analyse information, study causes and consequences and get
your brain working beyond just putting dates in order.
The basics of a living timeline are as follows:
i. Use a horizontal line for the dates, just like a normal timeline.
ii. Use a vertical line to label the success and failure, importance, significance, impact, continuity and change over a set
period of time.
The example below measures the success and failures of the Weimar Republic 1918–23 from Depth Study B: Germany
1918–45.
Living timeline of the successes and failures of early Weimar 1918-23
success
January 1919: Spartacist
Revolt successfully stopped
by Ebert using the freikorps
March 1920: Kapp Putsch
ended after Ebert calls for
General Strike
1918
failure
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
11 January 1923: French and
Belgian troops invade the
Ruhr
28 June 1919: Germany
forced to sign Treaty of
Versailles
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Learner Guide
2. Mind maps
Mind maps are a great way to revise the links between different factors or to explore a larger topic. They can also be used to
brainstorm your ideas.
i. Use a blank sheet of paper and turn it on its side (landscape).
ii. Put the topic title in the middle of the page and build the mind map outwards using lines called ‘branches’.
–– The first branches are from the central topic to sub-topics; draw these as thick lines.
–– Add new branches from the sub-topics to include more detail; draw these as thinner lines.
–– Add even more detail to a point by adding more branches.
This creates a hierarchy of information from ‘overview’ (the thick branches) to ‘fine detail’ (thinnest branches).
iii. Write single key words or phrases along a branch and add drawings for visual impact.
iv. Use different colours, highlighter pens, symbols and arrows to highlight key facts or issues.
It is a good idea to use a large piece of plain A3 (or larger) paper and lots of coloured pens.
30
Learner Guide
3. Teach the topic
This is a very simple but effective technique that focusses on knowledge recall. It tests the brain and rehearse the information
you need to know for a certain topic and so will help your revision.
i. Create some topic cards with key bullet points of information on. Leave space for ticks.
ii. Give these to your parents, family or friends for example.
iii. Give yourself 10 minutes maximum to teach your audience the main points of the topic. You could use a mini-whiteboard
or flip chart to help.
iv. Your audience tick off all the points you mention in your presentation and give you a final score.
The brain loves competition, so if you do not score full marks, you can try again the next day, or compete against friends. This
system of repeat and rehearsal is very effective, especially with more complex topics, and doesn't take much preparation.
4. Question and answer (Q&A) cards
This is very similar to 'Teach the topic' but less formal and less public for those who dislike performing in front of others. It
tests knowledge recall and rehearses the information you need to know for a certain topic.
i. Pick a topic and create two sets of cards: question cards and answer cards. You might find it helpful to make the question
cards a different size or use different coloured card for answers.
ii. Make sure you have the topic, or something appropriate depending on what you are focusing on, as a heading on each
card. The questions should test your knowledge and understanding of key areas of the course.
iii. A friend or family member uses the cards to test you in short 5 or 10 minute periods at any time during the day.
iv. You could also do this alone by reading the questions to yourself, giving the answer and then checking the correct answer
card.
v. This game can be adapted by using the cards to find matching pairs: turn all cards face down across the space in front
of you. Turn over two cards, leaving them where they are. If they match (one is a question card and the other is the
corresponding answer card) pick up the pair and put them to one side. If they don't match, try to remember where they are
and what is on each card, then turn them back over. Turn over two other cards. Continue until you have matched all pairs.
5. Question paper and mark schemes
Looking at past question papers and the mark scheme helps you to familiarise yourself with what to expect and what the
standard is.
i. Ask your teacher for past paper questions with mark schemes for the course – ask your teacher for help to make sure you
are answering the correct questions and to simplify the mark scheme.
ii. Look at the revision checklist and identify which topic a given question relates to – you might need to ask your teacher to
help you do this.
iii. Once you have finished revising a topic or unit, time yourself answering some appropriate exam questions. Check the mark
schemes to see how well you would have scored, or give the answers to your teacher to check.
iv. Add details or notes to the mark scheme where you missed out on marks in your original answers using a different
coloured pen. Use these notes when you revise and try the question again later.
You can find plenty of past exam papers and mark schemes on the Cambridge International public website:
www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-history-0470/past-papers/
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Learner Guide
Other useful revision advice for Cambridge IGCSE History
Although there is a choice of questions on Paper 1 and Paper 4, not every Key Question will be examined, so make sure you
don't have gaps in your notes, just in case those topics come up.
You can plan to revise in a number of different ways, such as:
•
Revise by topic – revise the Key Questions in your Core Content option and then your Depth Study.
•
Revise by exam paper – revise the topics as they are tested in the examination Papers 1–4.
•
Mixed approach – revise the topics in the Core Content option and the Depth Study option but practise relevant exam
paper questions as you go along.
There is no correct way of revising so you need to choose the system that works for you.
Mixed approach revision timetable
The example below shows a simple table that applies the mixed approach to revision timetabling.
This example shows only a small sample of the content.
Column 1 – contains the topic focus or Key Question
Column 2 – lists the planned amount of time to spend revising based on the difficulty and amount of information to be learned
Column 3 – includes a reference to past paper questions that test the topic
Column 4 – ‘RAG’ stands for ‘Red’, ‘Amber’ and ‘Green’. Fill in this column according to your confidence in the topic focus
or Key Question: R = Red (I do not understand or am not confident); A = Amber (I partially understand and have
some confidence); G = Green (I fully understand and am completely confident)
Column 5 – write notes to yourself on what to focus on, or activities to help you revise or practise the topics and any notes
that support your revision.
Topic/Key Question
Time
Past
needed paper
The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Core B1
Were the peace treaties of 1919–23 fair?
•
The peace treaties of 1919–23:
4 hours
–– the roles of individuals such as Wilson,
Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the
peacemaking process
32
RAG
Notes
Learner Guide
Now use the revision checklists on the next pages to help guide your revision.
Revision checklists for Cambridge IGCSE History
The tables below can be used as a revision checklist: It doesn’t contain all the detailed knowledge you need to know, just
an overview. For more detail see the syllabus and talk to your teacher.
You can use the tick boxes in the checklists to show when you have revised and are happy that you do not need to return to it.
Tick the ‘R’, ‘A’, and ‘G’ column to record your progress. The ‘R’, ‘A’ and ‘G’ represent different levels of confidence, as follows:
•
R = RED: means you are really unsure and lack confidence in that area; you might want to focus your revision here and
possibly talk to your teacher for help
•
A = AMBER: means you are reasonably confident in a topic but need some extra practice
•
G = GREEN: means you are very confident in a topic
As your revision progresses, you can concentrate on the RED and AMBER topics, in order to turn them into GREEN topics. You
might find it helpful to highlight each topic in red, orange or green to help you prioritise.
You can use the ‘Comments’ column to:
•
add more information about the details for each point
•
include a reference to a useful resource
•
add learning aids such as rhymes, poems or word play
•
highlight areas of difficulty or things that you need to talk to your teacher about.
Click on the relevant link below to go directly to the appropriate checklist:
Core Content
Option A: The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848–1914
Option B: The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Depth Study
A: The First World War, 1914–18
B: Germany, 1918–45
C: Russia, 1905–41
D: The USA, 1919–41
E: China, c.1930–c.1990
F: South Africa, c.1940–c.1994
G: Israelis and Palestinians since 1945
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Learner Guide
Core Content Option A - The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848 - 1914
Key Question
Core A1
Focus points
What key knowledge you need to know
•
Why were there so
many revolutions in
1848?
The nature of revolutions in 1848, and the influence of
liberalism and nationalism
•
Did the revolutions
have anything in
common?
Causes and events of revolutions in France, Italy, Germany
and the Austrian Empire
•
Why did most of the
revolutions fail?
•
Did the revolutions
change anything?
Core A2
•
Austrian influence over Italy
How was Italy
unified?
Why was Italy not
unified in 1848–49?
•
How important
was Garibaldi’s
contribution to
unifying Italy?
Italian nationalism and the role of Mazzini
Were the Revolutions
of 1848 important?
•
•
Reasons for the failure of the revolutions
Events of 1848–49
Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour: Plombières, war with Austria
Did Cavour help or
hinder the unification in 1859
of Italy?
Garibaldi and the invasion of Sicily and Naples
How important
for other European
countries were moves The creation of the Kingdom of Italy, completion of
unification by 1870
towards Italian
unification?
34
R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
Core Content Option A - The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848 - 1914
Key Question
Core A3
How was Germany
unified?
Focus points
•
Why was Germany
not unified in
1848–50?
•
How did Bismarck
bring about Austria’s
defeat of 1866?
•
How did Bismarck
bring about France’s
defeat of 1870?
•
How far was
Bismarck responsible
for the unification of
Germany?
What key knowledge you need to know
German nationalism
The Zollverein
The 1848 revolution in Prussia
The setting up and eventual failure of the Frankfurt Parliament
Re-establishment of Austrian influence in Germany by 1850
Bismarck as Prussian Minister-President
Bismarck’s foreign policy to 1871:
•
Schleswig-Holstein
•
the Austro-Prussian War and its consequences
•
relations with France
•
the Spanish Succession and the Franco-Prussian War
•
the creation of the German empire
35
R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
Core Content Option A - The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848 - 1914
Key Question
Core A4
Focus points
•
Why was there a civil
•
war in the United
States and what were
its results?
How far did slavery
cause the Civil War?
What was the
significance of
Lincoln's election as
president?
•
Why was the North
able to win the war?
•
Did the way change
anything?
What key knowledge you need to know
Causes and consequences of the American Civil War, 1820–77:
•
differences between North and South
•
slavery, slave states and free states abolitionism
•
the 1860 election and secession of the Southern states
•
reasons for the North's victory
•
the role of Lincoln
•
reconstruction
•
how successful was reconstruction?
36
R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
Core Content Option A - The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848 - 1914
Key Question
Focus points
Core A5
•
Why, and with
what effects, did
Europeans expand
their overseas
empires in the 19th
century?
What were
the motives
behind European
imperialism?
•
How varied were the
impacts of European
imperialism on
Africans?
•
Why, and with what
effects, did Indians
resist British rule?
•
Why, and with
what effects, did
the Chinese resist
European influence?
What key knowledge you need to know
Reasons for imperialism: economic, military, geopolitical,
religious and cultural motives
Europeans in Africa: case studies of French, British and Belgian
imperialism, and their impacts on Africans:
•
the French model of assimilation and direct rule; Faidherbe
and Senegal
•
the British model of indirect rule; Lugard and Nigeria
•
the Belgians and private imperialism; Leopold II and the
Congo
The British in India: the Mutiny, and changes it brought to
British rule
Europeans and China: the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rising and
their results
37
R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
Core Content Option A - The 19th century: The Development of Modern Nation States, 1848 - 1914
Key Question
Core A6
Focus points
•
What caused the First
World War?
•
•
•
Did the Alliance
System make war
more likely or less
likely?
What key knowledge you need to know
The origins of the First World War, 1890–1914:
•
•
How far did colonial
problems create
•
tensions between the
Great Powers?
•
Why were problems
in the Balkans so
•
difficult for the Great
Powers to solve?
the Alliance System
the arms race
colonial rivalries
developments in the Balkans
the crisis of June–July 1914 and the outbreak of war
How did the
assassination of Franz
Ferdinand lead to
war?
38
R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B1
Were the peace
treaties of 1919–23
fair?
Core B2
To what extent
was the League of
Nations a success?
Focus points
•
•
What were the
motives and aims
of the Big Three at
Versailles?
The peace treaties of 1919–23:
•
the roles of individuals such as Wilson, Clemenceau and
Lloyd George in the peacemaking process
Why did all the
victors not get
everything they
wanted?
•
the impact of the treaties on the defeated countries
•
contemporary opinions about the treaties
•
What was the impact
of the peace treaty
on Germany up to
1923?
•
Could the treaties be
justified at the time?
•
How successful was
the League in the
1920s?
•
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
The League of Nations:
•
How far did
weaknesses in the
•
League’s organisation
make failure
•
inevitable?
How far did the
Depression make the
work of the League
more difficult?
•
strengths and weaknesses in its structure and organisation:
work of the League’s agencies/humanitarian work
successes and failures in peacekeeping during the 1920s
the impact of the World Depression on the work of the
League after 1929
the failures of the League in the 1930s,including
Manchuria and Abyssinia
How successful was
the League in the
1930s?
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Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B3
Why had
international peace
collapsed by 1939?
Focus points
•
•
•
What were the longterm consequences
of the peace treaties
of 1919–23?
What key knowledge you need to know
The collapse of international order in the 1930s
The increasing militarism of Germany, Italy and Japan
What were the
Hitler’s foreign policy to 1939:
consequences of the
failures of the League • the Saar
in the 1930s?
How far was Hitler’s • re-militarisation of the Rhineland
foreign policy
to blame for the
outbreak of war in
1939?
•
Was the policy
of appeasement
justified?
•
How important was
the Nazi–Soviet Pact?
•
Why did Britain
and France declare
war on Germany in
September 1939?
•
involvement in the Spanish Civil War
•
Anschluss with Austria
•
appeasement
•
crises over Czechoslovakia and Poland
•
the outbreak of war
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Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B4
Focus points
•
What key knowledge you need to know
Why did the USA–
USSR alliance begin
to break down in
1945?
The origins of the Cold War:
•
the 1945 summit conferences and the breakdown of the
USA–USSR alliance in 1945–46
•
How had the USSR
gained control of
Eastern Europe by
1948?
•
Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe to 1948, and
American reactions to it
•
How did the USA
react to Soviet
expansionism?
•
the occupation of Germany and the Berlin Blockade
•
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
Who was to blame
for the Cold War?
•
What were the
consequences of the
Berlin Blockade?
•
Who was the more to
blame for starting the
Cold War: the USA or
the USSR?
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Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B5
How effectively did
the USA contain
the spread of
Communism?
Focus points
What key knowledge you need to know
•
America and events
in Korea, 1950–53
Events of the Cold War
•
America and events
in Cuba, 1959–62
Case studies of:
•
American
involvement in
Vietnam.
•
American reactions to the Cuban revolution, including the
missile crisis and its aftermath
•
American involvement in the Vietnam War, e.g. reasons for
involvement, tactics/strategy, reasons for withdrawal
•
American reactions to North Korea’s invasion of South
Korea, involvement of the UN, course of the war to 1953
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Learner Guide
Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B6
Focus points
•
How secure was the
USSR's control over
Eastern Europe, 1948
- c.1989?
•
Why was there
opposition to
Soviet control in
Hungary in 1956 and
Czechoslovakia in
1968, and how did
the USSR react to this
opposition?
How similar were
events in Hungary
in 1956 and in
Czechoslovakia in
1968?
•
Why was the Berlin
Wall built in 1961?
•
What was the
significance of
‘Solidarity’ in Poland
for the decline of
Soviet influence in
Eastern Europe?
•
How far was
Gorbachev personally
responsible for the
collapse of Soviet
control over Eastern
Europe?
What key knowledge you need to know
Soviet power in Eastern Europe:
•
resistance to Soviet power in Hungary (1956) and
Czechoslovakia (1968)
•
the Berlin Wall
•
‘Solidarity’ in Poland
•
Gorbachev and the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern
Europe
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Core Content Option B - The 20th century: International Relations since 1919
Key Question
Core B7
Focus points
•
Why did events in the
Gulf matter, c.1970 •
2000?
•
Why was Saddam
The rise to power of Saddam Hussein in Iraq
Hussein able to come
to power in Iraq?
The rule of Saddam Hussein up to 2000, and the
What was the nature consequences of his rule for different groups in Iraq
of Saddam Hussein’s
The nature of the Shah’s rule in Iran and the Iranian
rule in Iraq?
Revolution of 1979
Why was there a
revolution in Iran in
1979?
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
What were
the causes and
consequences of
the Iran- Iraq War,
1980–88?
The causes and consequences of the Iran-Iraq War, 1980–88;
Western involvement in the war
The causes, course and consequences of the Gulf War,
1990–91
Why did the First
Gulf War take place?
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Depth Study A: The First World War, 1914–18
Key Question
Depth A1
Focus points
•
Why was the war not
over by December
•
1914?
Depth A2
Why was there
stalemate on the
Western Front?
What key knowledge you need to know
How was the
Schlieffen Plan
intended to work?
The Schlieffen Plan in operation
How important was
Belgium's reaction to
the Schlieffen Plan?
•
the reaction to the 'stalemate'
•
the nature and problems of trench warfare
The Battles of Mons, the Marne and Ypres:
•
How successful
was the British
Expeditionary Force
(BEF)?
•
Why did both sides
introduce trenches?
•
Why did the war
become bogged
down in the
trenches?
The main battles of the war including the Somme and Verdun:
•
the leaderships and tactics of Haig at the Battle of the
Somme
•
What was living
and fighting in the
trenches like?
•
the nature and problems of trench warfare
•
How important were
new developments
such as tanks,
machine guns,
aircraft and gas?
•
the use and impact of new methods of warfare
•
What was the
significance of the
battles of Verdun and
the Somme?
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Depth Study A: The First World War, 1914–18
Key Question
Focus points
Depth A3
•
How important were
other fronts?
Who won the war at
sea?
•
Why did the Gallipoli
campaign of 1915
fail?
•
•
Depth A4
Why did Germany
ask for an armistice
in 1918?
•
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
The war at sea:
•
the Battle of Jutland and its consequences
•
the use of convoys and submarines and the U-boat
campaign
Why did Russia leave
the war in 1918?
The reasons for, and results of, the Gallipoli campaign
What was the impact
of war on civilian
The impact of war on civilian populations
populations?
Events on the Eastern Front and the defeat of Russia
What was the
importance of
America's entry into
the war?
The German offensive and the Allied advance:
•
the impact of American entry into the war
Conditions in Germany towards the end of the war:
Why was the German
• the Keil Mutiny and German Revolution
offensive of 1918
unsuccessful?
• the abdication of the Kaiser
Why did revolution
break out in Germany
The armistice
in October 1918?
•
Why was the
armistice signed?
46
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Learner Guide
Depth Study B: Germany, 1918–1945
Key Question
Depth B1
Was the Weimar
Republic doomed
from the start?
Focus points
What key knowledge you need to know
•
How did Germany
The Revolution of 1918 and the establishment of the Republic
emerge from defeat
at the end of the First
The Versailles Settlement and German reactions to it
World War?
•
What was the impact The Weimar Constitution, the main political divisions, the role
of the Treaty of
of the army
Versailles on the
Republic?
Political disorder, 1919–23:
To what extent did
the Republic recover • economic crises and hyper-inflation
after 1923?
• the occupation of the Ruhr
What were the
achievements of the
The Stresemann era
Weimar period?
•
•
Cultural achievements of the Weimar period
Depth B2
Why was Hitler
able to dominate
Germany by 1934?
•
What did the Nazi
Party stand for in the
1920s?
•
What did the Nazis
have little success
before 1930?
•
Why was Hitler
able to become
Chancellor by 1933?
•
The early years of the Nazi Party:
•
Nazi ideas and methods
•
the Munich Putsch
•
the roles of Hitler and other Nazi leaders
The impact of the Depression on Germany:
•
How did Hitler
consolidate his power
•
in 1933–34?
political, economic and social crisis of 1930–33
reasons for the Nazis' rise to power
•
Hitler takes power
•
the Reichstag Fire and the election of 1933
47
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Learner Guide
Depth Study B: Germany, 1918–1945
Key Question
Depth B3
Focus points
•
The Nazi regime
(a) How effectively
did the Nazis control
Germany, 1933–45?
•
•
•
Depth B3
(b) What was it
like to live in Nazi
Germany?
How much
opposition was there
to the Nazi regime?
Nazi rule in Germany:
•
the Enabling Act
How effectively
did the Nazis deal
with their political
opponents?
•
the Night of the Long Knives
•
the death of Hindenburg
How did the Nazis
use culture and mass
media to control the
people?
•
the removal of opposition
•
methods of control and repression
Why did the Nazis
persecute many
groups in German
society?
•
use of culture and the mass media
•
Was Nazi Germany a
totalitarian state?
•
How did young
people react to the
Nazi regime?
The Nazi regime
What key knowledge you need to know
Economic policy including re-armament
Different experiences of Nazi rule:
•
women and young people
How successful were
Nazi policies towards
women and the
family?
•
anti-Semitism
•
persecution of minorities
•
Did most people in
Germany benefit
from Nazi rule?
•
opposition to Nazi rule
•
How did the coming
of war change life in
Nazi Germany?
•
Impact of the Second World War on Germany:
•
the conversion to war economy
•
the Final Solution
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Depth Study C: Russia, 1905–41
Key Question
Depth C1
Focus points
•
Why did the Tsarist
regime collapse in
1917?
•
Depth C2
How did the
Bolsheviks gain
power, and how did
they consolidate
their rule?
What key knowledge you need to know
How well did the
Tsarist regime deal
with the difficulties
of ruling Russia up to
1914?
The main features of Tsarist rule and Russian society before
the First World War:
•
the 1905 Revolution and its aftermath
How did the Tsar
survive the 1905
Revolution?
•
attempts at reform
The First World War and its impact on the Russian people
•
How far was the Tsar
weakened by the First The March Revolution of 1917
World War?
•
Why was the
revolution of March
1917 successful?
•
How effectively
did the Provisional
Government rule
Russia in 1917?
•
•
•
Why were the
Bolsheviks able
to seize power in
November 1917?
Why did the
Bolsheviks win the
Civil War?
The Provisional Government and the Soviets, the growing
power of revolutionary groups
Reasons for the failure of the Provisional Government
The Bolshevik seizure of power, the role of Lenin
The main features of Bolshevik rule, the Civil War and War
Communism, and reasons for the Bolshevik victory
The Knronstadt Rising and the establishment of the New
How far was the New Economic Policy
Economic Policy a
success?
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Depth Study C: Russia, 1905–41
Key Question
Focus points
Depth C3
•
How did Stalin
gain and hold on to
power?
•
•
•
Depth C4
•
What was the impact
of Stalin's economic
•
policies?
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
Why did Stalin, and
not Trotsky, emerge
as Lenin's successor?
Lenin's death and the struggle for power
Why did Stalin
introduce the FiveYear Plans?
Stalin's economic policies and their impact:
Reasons for Stalin's emergence as leader by 1928
Why did Stalin launch
the Purges?
Stalin's dictatorship:
What methods did
• use of terror
Stalin used to control
the Soviet Union?
• the Purges
How complete was
Stalin's control over
• propaganda and official culture
the Soviet Union by
1941?
Why did Stalin
introduce
collectivisation?
How successful were
Stalin's economic
changes?
How were the Soviet
people affected by
these changes?
•
the modernisation of Soviet industry
•
the Five-Year Plans
•
collectivisation in agriculture
Life in the Soviet Union:
•
the differing experiences of social groups
•
ethnic minorities and women
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Depth Study D: The USA, 1919–41
Key Question
Depth D1
How far did the US
economy boom in
the 1920s?
Focus points
•
•
On what factors was
the economic boom
based?
Why did some
industries prosper
while others did not?
•
Why did agriculture
not share in the
prosperity?
•
Did all Americans
benefit from the
boom?
Depth D2
•
How far did US
society change in the
1920s?
What were the
'Roaring Twenties'?
•
How widespread was
intolerance in US
society?
•
•
Why was Prohibition
introduced, and then
later repealed?
How far did the roles
of women change
during the 1920s?
What key knowledge you need to know
The expansion of the US economy during the 1920s:
•
mass production in industries for cars and consumer
durables
•
the fortunes of older industries
•
the development of credit and hire purchase
•
the decline of agriculture
Weaknesses in the economy by the late 1920s
Society in the 1920s:
•
the 'Roaring Twenties'
•
film and other media
•
Prohibition and gangsterism
•
restrictions on immigration, the 'Red Scare' religious
intolerance
•
discrimination against black Americans
•
the Ku Klux Klan
•
the changing roles of women
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Depth Study D: The USA, 1919–41
Key Question
Focus points
Depth D3
•
What were
the causes and
consequences of the
Wall Street Crash?
How far was
speculation
responsible for the
Wall Street Crash?
•
What impact did the
crash have on the
economy?
Depth D4
How successful was
the New Deal?
•
What were the social
consequences of the
crash?
•
Why did Roosevelt
win the election of
1932?
•
What was the New
Deal as introduced in
1933?
•
How far did the
character of the New
Deal change after
1933?
•
•
•
Why did the New
Deal encounter
opposition?
Why did
unemployment
persist despite the
New Deal?
Did the fact that the
New Deal did not
solve unemployment
mean that it was a
failure?
What key knowledge you need to know
The Wall Street Crash and its financial, economic and social
effects
The reaction of President Hoover to the crash
The presidential election of 1932; Hoover's and Roosevelt's
programmes
Roosevelt’s inauguration and the ‘Hundred Days’
The New Deal legislation, the ‘alphabet agencies’ and their
work, and the economic and social changes they caused
Opposition to the New Deal:
•
the Republicans
•
the rich
•
business interests
•
the Supreme Court
•
radical critics like Huey Long
The strengths and weaknesses of the New Deal programme in
dealing with unemployment and the Depression
52
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Depth Study E: China, c.1930–1990
Key Question
Depth E1
Why did China
become a
Communist State in
1949?
Focus points
•
•
•
•
Why did the
Communists
undertake the Long
March in 1934?
What key knowledge you need to know
Kuomintang and Communist conflict:
•
the Shanghai Massacre and the five extermination
campaigns
What was the
•
importance of
the Communist
•
settlement at Yenan?
the Long March
How far did the
Second World
War weaken
the Nationalist
government?
•
impact of Japanese incursions on the Nationalist
government and the Communists
•
Xian Incident, 1936
Why was there a civil
war and why did the
Communists win it?
•
causes and events of the civil war
life at Yenan
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Learner Guide
Depth Study E: China, c.1930–1990
Key Question
Depth E2
Focus points
•
How far had
Communist rule
changed China by the
•
mid-1960s?
•
•
What changes in
agriculture did
Communist rule
bring?
What key knowledge you need to know
The nature of Chinese Communism
Communist rule in the 1950s and 1960s:
What was the impact •
of the Communists'
•
social reforms?
How successful
were the Five-Year
Plans in increasing
production?
Did the Chinese
people benefit from
Communist rule?
•
Agrarian reform from 1950
people's courts and the treatment of landlords
the establishment of collectives and communes
Industrial developments:
•
the Five-Year Plans
•
the Great Leap Forward
Social change:
•
the role of women
•
health education
•
propaganda and the destruction of traditional culture
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Depth Study E: China, c.1930–1990
Key Question
Depth E3
Focus points
•
What was the impact
of Communist rule
on China's relations
with other countries? •
•
Depth E4
Has Communism
produced a cruel
dictatorship in
China?
What have been
China's changing
relationships with
neighbouring states?
Why did China try
to improve relations
with the USA after
1970?
How far was China
established as a
superpower by the
time of Mao's death?
•
How far have China's
relations with other
powers improved
since Mao's death?
•
Why did Mao
launch the Cultural
Revolution?
•
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
Chinese foreign policy:
•
changing relations with the USSR
•
relations with other neighbouring countries, Tibet, India,
Vietnam, Taiwan
Closer relations with the USA from 1970
Hong Kong
Impact of China's relations with the rest of the world on its
economic liberalisation since Mao's death
The Communist Party dictatorship:
•
What was the impact •
of the Cultural
Revolution in China? •
How was the power
struggle after
•
the death of Mao
resolved?
•
How far did economic
development of the
•
1980s produce social
and political change?
•
repression of political opposition
the Hundred Flowers campaign
treatment of minority groups
the Cultural Revolution
the role and status of Mao
the power struggle after Mao’s death and the
re-emergence of Deng
the social and political consequences of economic change
in the 1980s and 1990s
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Learner Guide
Depth Study F: South Africa, c. 1940–1994
Key Question
Depth F1
What were the
foundations of the
apartheid state?
Focus points
•
•
•
•
How far had
segregation been
established by 1940?
What key knowledge you need to know
Existing policies and social, economic and political effects of:
•
pass laws
What was the impact • black ‘locations’
of government
policies on the non• colour-bar on employment
white population by
1940?
• land acts
How successful
was the economic
• restrictions on political rights
development of
South Africa by
Developments in mining, manufacturing and agriculture; state
1945?
involvement
Why did the National
Party win the election Impact of the Second World War on South Africa
of 1948?
British and Afrikaaner regional differences and the 1948
election
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Learner Guide
Depth Study F: South Africa, c. 1940–1994
Key Question
Depth F2
How successfully was
apartheid established
between 1948 and
1966?
Focus points
•
•
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
What were the
main features of the
apartheid system set
up by the National
Party after 1948?
Legislation and methods of enforcement after 1948
What consequences
did apartheid have
for the people of
South Africa?
Response of white population
How did opposition
to apartheid develop
between 1948 and
1964?
•
ANC aims and campaigns
•
women’s resistance
What were the
effects of the
government’s
response to
opposition by 1966?
•
ANC and PAC split
•
Umkhonto we Sizwe and Rivonia Trial
•
Sharpeville and Langa
Effects on employment, families, location, education,
coloureds
Development and effects in South Africa of:
International effects; 1961 South African Republic
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Learner Guide
Depth Study F: South Africa, c. 1940–1994
Key Question
Depth F3
To what extent did
South Africa change
between 1966 and
1980?
Focus points
•
•
•
•
Depth F4
Why did white
minority rule come
to an end?
•
•
•
•
What key knowledge you need to know
How significant
were the policies
of the National
governments from
1966 to 1980?
To what extent did
black opposition
change in this
period?
How far did economic
factors improve lives
by 1980?
What was the
impact of external
opposition to
apartheid?
Changes in methods of suppression and effects from 1966
What were the
effects of the policies
of P W Botha?
What was the
significance of
individual leaders
in the collapse of
apartheid?
Why did violence
increase between
1980 and the early
1990s?
To what extent was
there a smooth
transition of power
between 1989 and
1994?
‘Total strategy’ and reforms; social and political effects
Divisions in ANC and PAC in exile; significance of Black
Consciousness
Differing effects of economic developments
Organisation for African Unity and bases; UN sanctions;
government response
The role and motives of:
•
President de Klerk
•
ANC leaders
•
Desmond Tutu
•
Chief Buthelezi
School boycotts and township unrest
White extremism
Economic and international factors Power-sharing aims and
responses
1994 general election
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Depth Study G: Israelis and Palestinians since 1945
Key Question
Depth G1
Focus points
•
How was the Jewish
state of Israel
established?
•
Depth G2
What was the
significance for
Palestine of the end
of the Second World
War?
What were the
causes of conflict
between Jews and
Arabs in Palestine?
What key knowledge you need to know
The Arab and Jewish peoples of Palestine:
•
different cultures, races, languages
The aftermath of the Second World War:
•
Jewish immigration
•
Jewish nationalism and the ending of the British mandate
•
the declaration of the state of Israel and the war of
1948–49
•
Why did the Arabs
reject UNO plans to
partition Palestine?
•
Why was Israel able
to win the war of
1948–49?
•
Why was Israel able
Israel and its Arab neighbours:
to win the wars of
1956, 1967 and 1973? • the Suez War (1956)
How was Israel able
to survive despite the
•
hostility of its Arab
neighbours?
•
•
How significant
was superpower
involvement in ArabIsraeli conflicts?
How important was
oil in changing the
nature of the ArabIsraeli conflict?
•
the Six-Day War (1967)
•
the Yom Kippur War (1973) and Israeli incursions into
Lebanon
•
the oil weapon: changes in USA and Western thinking
By the 1990s, how
far had problems
which existed
between Israel and
her neighbours been
resolved?
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Learner Guide
Depth Study G: Israelis and Palestinians since 1945
Key Question
Depth G3
Focus points
•
What was the impact
of the Palestinian
•
refugee issue?
•
•
Why were there so
many Palestinian
refugees?
What key knowledge you need to know
The Palestinians to c. 1992:
•
the refugee problem
How effective was
•
the PLO in promoting
the Palestinian
•
cause?
Palestinian nationalism and the formation of the PLO
Why did Arab states
not always support
the Palestinian
cause?
•
the role of Arafat
•
relations between the PLO and Arab states
How did international •
perceptions of the
Palestinian cause
change over time?
activities of the PLO, and the international acceptance
relations with Israel and moves towards the creation of a
Palestinian state
60
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Learner Guide
Depth Study G: Israelis and Palestinians since 1945
Key Question
Depth G4
Why has it proved
impossible to resolve
the Arab-Israeli
issue?
Focus points
•
•
Why has the United
Nations been unable
to secure a lasting
peace?
How far have
international
diplomatic
negotiations
improved Israel's
relations with Arab
states and the
Palestinians?
•
How have divisions
within Israel affected
the peace process?
•
How have rivalries
among Palestinians
affected progress
towards a
settlement?
What key knowledge you need to know
Moves towards peace:
•
United Nations: resolutions, aid and peace-keeping duties
•
Camp David meetings; the Oslo Accords
•
the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, 1996
Divisions that restricted progress towards peace:
•
political parties: Likud, Labour
•
how elections in Israel affected the peace process
•
religious issues
Rivalries among Palestinians:
•
the nature of the PLO at its founding
•
Intifada, and the rise of Hamas
•
Hezbollah and Gaza
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R
A
G
Comments/key dates, events and
characters
Learner Guide
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